Carmelized Onion & Fennel Tart

Caramelized onions are the heart of this tart, cooked slow over medium heat until they collapse into something jammy and deeply sweet. The trick is patience: rush the pan and you get limp, watery onions, but give them their full 10 to 12 minutes and they turn golden and silky.

Fresh fennel and thyme join late, the fennel softening into a soft anise note that plays against the onion’s sweetness. Everything spreads onto a sheet of puff pastry that bakes up shatteringly crisp and flaky underneath.

It stays fully vegan thanks to olive oil and margarine standing in for butter, so nobody at the table misses the dairy. Slice it warm for a rustic supper or pack it cold for a picnic.

Chef Tips

• Slice the onions thin and even so they cook at the same rate; thick wedges stay raw while thin shreds scorch.
• If the pan goes dry before the onions color, splash in a spoonful of water rather than more oil, then keep stirring.
• Keep the puff pastry cold right up until it hits the oven. Warm pastry slumps and won’t rise into those crisp layers.
• Salt the onions early to pull out moisture and speed the browning along.

Variations

• Smear a thin layer of vegan cream cheese or a thyme-spiked white bean puree on the pastry before the onions for extra richness.
• Swap the fennel for thinly sliced leek, or scatter on olives and capers for a Provencal pissaladiere feel.
• Finish with a drizzle of balsamic glaze and torn fresh basil straight from the oven.